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California solar / Pomona
Pomona solar has a city-owned surplus rate. Start there.
Written by the Solar Learning Lab research deskUpdated August 24, 202610 min read
Pomona is one of the places where a solar quote can be technically correct and still miss the most local fact. SCE owns the wires, but Pomona Choice Energy runs generation, and its solar program publishes a 6 cent per kWh Net Surplus Compensation rate. The CPUC net billing tariff is still underneath. The CCA layer does not replace it.
That makes Pomona a poor fit for generic “SCE solar” advice. First understand the two ledgers. Then check the SolarAPP+ permit route and the published $509.65 comparative permit fee. Only after that should system size become a sales conversation.
Map the two Pomona solar ledgers
Start with the POME surplus rule and the SCE tariff below it.
See the Pomona rate structurePomona has a second solar ledger after the SCE ledger
Pomona Choice Energy is a city-formed community choice aggregator on SCE wires. That sounds administrative until a solar account has a surplus at the end of its cycle. New interconnections since April 15, 2023 sit on the CPUC net billing tariff, while Pomona Solar Choice automatically layers the CCA program onto customers enrolled in SCE net billing.
The important local figure is not a retail rate. Pomona Choice Energy publishes a 6 cent per kWh Net Surplus Compensation rate, with cash-out available at a $100 balance and smaller balances rolling forward. It describes that amount as above SCE's own NSC rate. That is a city-owned CCA decision, not a reason to design a system around large exports.
Use the phrase “on top of” carefully. POME says the delivery-side relationship remains tied to SCE's underlying NEM or net billing tariff. A proposal must show self-consumption, hourly export assumptions, and the treatment of a year-end surplus. One annual-production number cannot do those jobs.
SolarAPP+ speeds one part of Pomona's process
Pomona's published path has three moves: submit the design through SolarAPP+, receive approval, then apply through the City's online portal. The Building and Safety page is unusually clear that SolarAPP+ approval is not itself the entire City permit transaction.
A Ventura County comparative report lists Pomona's residential PV permit fee as $509.65. That is the available comparative figure, not a number confirmed in the City's fetched fee schedule. The same report says issuance may be over the counter or can take 2 to 3 weeks through the building department. Put that distinction in the bid rather than treating an automated design check as a calendar guarantee. Read the comparative report.
The state tracking file classifies Pomona as a SolarAPP+ Platform jurisdiction and carries a non-certification disclaimer. That is sensible: eligibility is a project question, not a logo on a municipal webpage. The CEC dataset is the right context.
There are roofs here, but roofs are not a sizing method
The state's January 2026 estimate counts 26,851 single-detached homes among Pomona's 45,249 housing units. That is real rooftop inventory. It says nothing about roof age, electrical panels, shade or daytime consumption, which are the facts that make or break an individual job. The state housing estimate supports the inventory, not a promised savings percentage.
California's Solar Rights Act also applies to Pomona CC&Rs, but it does not erase every design-review or structural question. Start with the roof, the bill and any association rules before a salesperson draws a giant array. Civil Code Section 714 is the legal starting point.
Do not smuggle an expired tax credit into a Pomona quote
For a 2026 homeowner purchase, stop before adding a 25D credit. Congress ended the credit for expenditures after December 31, 2025, so a 30 percent line item is stale arithmetic. Congressional Research Service guidance states the timing plainly.
We found no city or POME residential solar rebate in the supplied local material. POME's published solar consumer page is about compensation, not a rebate. That may be less exciting than an incentive headline. It is also the honest planning baseline.
The live bill has SCE delivery and POME generation
| Energy source | Type | Average price | What that means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pomona Choice Energy | Domestic generation | 13.759¢ per kWh | All-usage rate, effective December 1, 2025. |
| Pomona Solar Choice | Net Surplus Compensation | 6¢ per kWh | POME's published rate for an eligible surplus balance. |
| SCE and CPUC net billing | delivery and export framework | hourly values not a flat rate | New interconnections use the CPUC net billing tariff. |
| Onsite solar | self-consumed output | bill reduction not a tariff | Value depends on the account's retail charges at the time power is used. |
POME rate filing, POME NSC explanation, and CPUC net billing page.
Pomona's modeled output is strong. Exports still need a home.
The downtown PVGIS run estimates 1,714.2 kWh from each kilowatt of installed capacity over a year. August is the modeled high point at 170.5 kWh per kW. Good production is not permission to overbuild. The project becomes more valuable when more generation meets household use before it becomes an export credit.
August is the modeled high month at 170.5 kWh per kW.
PVGIS v5.2. PVGIS v5.2 model run by Solar Learning Lab on August 24, 2026, NSRDB radiation database. Fixed south facing mount, 30 degree tilt, 14 percent losses, downtown Pomona coordinates. Your roof will differ.
Ask Pomona bidders to explain the handoff, not just the equipment
The installer list is a starting point, not an endorsement. Ask whether the job begins in SolarAPP+, when the City portal filing happens, and how the bid treats POME's 6 cent NSC rate and SCE net billing. If the response collapses those into one generic export number, the modeling is too loose.
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A calculator cannot merge POME and SCE billing for you
This is a cautious sizing screen based on local production and California inputs. It deliberately does not represent Pomona Choice Energy's program as a flat avoided-cost rate. Use it to test size and price, then make a bidder document the actual tariff logic.
Pomona output at the high setting is our downtown PVGIS result. The low end is 85 percent of it, used to show how a less favorable roof changes the screening math.
Cash quotes in Pomona cluster near $2.46 per watt, against a $3.50 national 2024 median (LBNL). Use your quote.
Assumptions you can change
Use the rate on your actual lease or PPA quote. There is no published statewide average we trust enough to hardcode.
Cash purchase
$8,364 after state credit
- Year 1 benefit
- $161/mo
- Payback
- 5 years
- 20 year net position
- $38,663
The cash model is a first pass only. A Pomona quote should identify its system size, self-consumption assumption and whether POME generation charges are reflected.
Solar loan
$112/mo 15 yr payment
- Year 1 net
- $50/mo
- Upfront
- $0
- 20 year net position
- $26,894
Financing deserves a separate cash-price comparison. Ask for the financed price, dealer fee, APR, term and prepayment terms in writing.
Lease / PPA
$0 down you buy the power
- Year 1 net
- $45/mo
- Upfront
- $0
- 20 year net position
- $14,714
A provider may discuss Section 48E, a facility-level business clean electricity investment credit for qualified generation and storage facilities placed in service after December 31, 2024. It is not a homeowner replacement for the ended 25D credit. Compare the contract rate and escalator with the bill.
Pomona is not an ordinary SCE solar page. The calculator starts with California inputs, but a live bill has SCE delivery and a Pomona Choice Energy generation layer. It cannot model hourly CPUC export values or Pomona Choice Energy true-up treatment. We are a solar installer and we also partner with other solar companies. See our disclosures.
Pomona solar questions that deserve a straight answer
Does Pomona Choice Energy replace SCE for solar?
What is Pomona's published surplus rate?
Is Pomona on SolarAPP+?
What does the Pomona PV permit cost?
Can I claim a federal homeowner solar credit in 2026?
Get a Pomona solar estimate that names both rate layers
Bring twelve months of bills. The useful proposal will identify POME generation, SCE delivery, expected self-use and its permit workflow.
What does your monthly electric bill look like?
Pomona average is $161 per month (EIA, 2024).